VIDEO: Daredevil surfer hitches a ride with a Great White Shark... a fin-tastic fake or the real deal?

As stunts go, baiting a Great White Shark to take you for a ride by towing your surfboard is an adrenalin rush unlikely to be matched again.

A video purporting to show just this has swept around the world via email in the last few days.

But there's just one small problem - does the footage show a foolhardy daredevil or is it a hoax?

Real or fake? A man on a surfboard is apparently towed by a Great White Shark

Photographer Kem McNair claims he captured the hair-raising moment on home video from the shore at Florida's New Smyrna beach.

He said the stunt - dubbed 'shark-riding' - has become the latest, and most dangerous, extreme sports craze in more than a decade.

In his video, a 25-year-old male surfer is filmed being dragged along by a fishing line after baiting a shark with chunks of bloodied steak.

Clutching a fishing rod with meat on the hook, the clip begins with the surfer jumping off a pier into the sea. He casts his bait into the water and watches as a 4ft dorsal fin appears on the horizon and heads straight for the line.

After chomping on the bait the shark swims off with the surfer being dragged behind on his board, clutching the fishing line with both hands like a water-skier.

He reaches speeds of approximately 30mph as he races past stunned onlookers enjoying a dip in the sea.

The daredevil - or hoaxer - prepares to jump into the sea with his surfboard and some chunks of bloodied meat to attract a shark

After 30 seconds the line snaps and the shark disappears back into the abyss.

Mr McNair insists that what he captured on film has not been faked.

He said: 'I just happened to be panning the camera across the bay when I spotted this dude paddling around with a fishing rod.

'It was so bizarre I had to keep watching watching and it was just a fluke that I captured what happened next.

'He was surfing the breaks as a shark towed him along. The guy must be totally suicidal but it was rad to watch.

'I know a shark when I see one - and this was no hoax. I've got friends who can call any doubters up and set them straight.'

Great Whites are common in waters off Florida. While they usually remain in deep water, Great Whites often venture closer to shore - especially when attracted by floating chunks of meat.

Watch the footage here and judge for yourself whether or not it's a hoax:

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VIDEO: Daredevil surfer hitches a ride with a Great White Shark... a fin-tastic fake or the real deal?